Cast

Preceded by

Followed by

Contents

The Movie

Synopsis

Gypsy's first appearance in the theater

Cotton grower Mr. Tropp (John Russell) and corrupt female judge Mrs. Steele (Lurene Tuttle) conspire between them to ship convicts to work on Tropp's farm for starvation wages. Two of the new arrivals are professional entertainers Penny (Mamie Van Doren) and Janey (Nelson), arrested on trumped-up charges and forced to work off their sentence on the Tropp spread. Salvation arrives
in the form of Bob (Don Burnett), Mrs. Steele's son, who intends to expose his mom's scheme.
[1]

Information

This movie was on the Catholic Legion of Decency list of objectionable films because of its depiction of "immorality", most likely due to Mamie Van Doren's tight sweaters and the idea that someone could get pregnant before getting married.

Featured in the cast is rock-and-roller Eddie Cochran, who sings one song compared to Mamie Van Doren's four.

According to the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide, this episode was the subject of the first known negative review of MST3K, which appeared in Gore Zone magazine.

The Episode

Host Segments

Invention Exchange (Segment One): Joel invented a "never-light pipe" with a sprinkler system activated by a smoke detector which puts itself out whenever you try to light up. Larry & Dr F. realized that children adore puppets and putting things in their mouths, so they invented "tongue puppets": puppets that you put on your tongue.

Segment Four:
Gypsy can't stop coughing up synthetic cotton; she starts barfing up other things upon command, including a second Tom Servo!

Ending Segment:
Joel and the bots try to comprehend the goofy glasses-wearing guy from the movie. Then they read some letters.

Trivia

With this episode, the MST3K “Fan Club” becomes the “Information Club” in the end-of-show announcement.

Gypsy enters the theater for the first time (not counting KTMA) in this episode: Joel calls her into the theater to produce cotton in response to Tom Servo’s query about what real cotton feels like.

Josh Weinstein and Trace Beaulieu admitted that they drank tequila to get through this film. They said that it affected the performance of the riffing and if they can't do their job sober, then they can't be professional.

Callbacks

Obscure References

"At least it’s a Warner Brothers picture."

Warner Brothers is one of the largest film studios in Hollywood. It was founded by four brothers (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner) in 1903 when they opened a theater in New Castle, Pennsylvania; they began producing their own films by World War I.

"Sounds like it’s going to be one of those teensploitation things."

Teensploitation is a genre of film-making that exploits teen feelings of angst and rebellion with plots involving sex, drugs, music, and crime.

"I hope there’s a cartoon first."

For much of cinematic history, comedic short films (frequently animation) preceded the feature presentations at movie theaters. For Warner Brothers’ films, these shorts were very often Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, starring Bugs Bunny and the gang. Another explanation could be that in the episode immediately prior, Episode 111 Moon Zero Two, the beginning credits have a cartoon backdrop.

"I’m not sure, but I think the word “daddy-o” is in this film about a million times."

Other than being the name of a future episode of MST3K (Show
307), “daddy-o” is a bit of beatnik slang from the 1950s, equivalent to “dude.”

"It’s like the Stephen King book Children of the Dirt."

Stephen King is a horror novelist known for works like The Shining, Salem’s Lot, Christine, and The Stand. “Children of the Corn” is a 1977 short story by King about a small Nebraska town taken over and terrorized by a cult of children who worship “He Who Walks Behind the Rows.” In 1984, it was made into a movie starring Linda Hamilton. That original film was followed by more than a half-dozen sequels.

"Don’t ever play chicken with cop cars. You’ll never win."

Chicken is the name given to the game wherein two people, often in cars, race toward each other to see who will lose their nerve first and swerve to avoid a collision. Sometimes, the game can be one-sided: i.e., a person can play against an unwitting opponent (such as a train).

"Works every time."

“It works every time” was the longtime slogan for Colt 45 malt liquor, used primarily in ads from the 1980s featuring actor Billy Dee Williams.

“Primordial soup” is the colloquial name for the theory that the early oceans on Earth (and by early, I mean four billion years ago) contained vast amounts of simple chemicals and compounds. When electrified by
lightning or simply excited by sunlight, these chemicals would group and form amino acids, the simplest building blocks of life. The theory was first proposed by Russian biologist Alexander Oparin in 1924.

"It’s the Maytag repairman. He does look lonely."

Founded in 1893 by Frederick Maytag, Maytag is a manufacturer of appliances. The Maytag repairman (nicknamed “Ol’ Lonely”) debuted in advertisements beginning in 1967, played by Jesse White. The repairman was always bored and lonely because his services as a repairman weren’t needed (since Maytag appliances never broke).

"Meanwhile, at Mount Vernon..."

The phrase, “Meanwhile, back at _____,” originated with cards inserted in silent films of the early 20th century. In westerns, this was often “Meanwhile, back at the ranch...” Once audio became a common component, the phrase was still used by narrators for films, radio, and television shows. Mount Vernon is the name of George Washington’s plantation, located near Alexandria, Virginia.

"Just for snoring too loud."

A possible reference to an old Time-Life commercial that ran during the 1970s to advertise their series of Old West books. The voiceover in the ad talked about a man who was “so mean he once shot a man just for snoring.” The man in question was John Wesley Hardin (1853-1895), a Texas outlaw who killed at least 21 men between 1868 and 1877, when he was sent to prison. He was pardoned in 1894 and shot in the back of the head by an El Paso policeman the following year.

"Her name was Peanut."

Ventriloquist/comedian Jeff Dunham has a creepy purple puppet named Peanut, whom he often introduces by saying, “He’s a woozle, and his name is Peanut.” The writers found this fascinating, pointing out in the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide that the phrasing made it sound as though the audience was supposed to know what a woozle was.

"Green Acres?"

Green Acres was a TV sitcom that ran from 1965 to 1971. It starred Eva Gabor (1919-1995) as Lisa Douglas, the socialite wife of attorney Oliver Wendell Douglas, played by Eddie Albert (1906-2005), who tries to adapt to life in the rural town of Hooterville.

"Looks like Tom Waits’ hometown."

Tom Waits is a goateed, gravelly voiced singer-songwriter of the jazz/blues persuasion who has also appeared in many bit parts in films.

"Somewhere out there is the Ark of the Covenant."

The Ark of the Covenant, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, was the ornate chest that carried the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Moses’ original scrolls, a jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod. In 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark was located in the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis and could melt the face off a Nazi.

"Oh, I hope it’s not the Von Trapp family. I hate them."

The Trapp Family Choir (or Trapp Family Singers) was an Austrian group of singers made up of a widower, his seven children, and Maria, a tutor who later became their stepmother. They escaped Austria during the Anschluss, the 1938 annexation of their country by Nazi Germany. Their story became the 1959 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music and the famed 1965 film of the same name.

"Hey, it’s the body snatcher pod wagon."

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a science fiction film released in 1956 that serves as a Cold War allegory. It was based on a 1955 novel called The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. Other film adaptations of the work were made and released in 1978, 1993, and 2007. When the aliens invaded, they created duplicates of people, which emerged from large pods.

In the Parker Brothers game Monopoly, one of the board spaces is labeled Free Parking, meaning no rent can be earned there and no property built. While not a part of the official rules, many people play a variation wherein all taxes (and sometimes fees or fines) collected during the gameplay are placed in the center of the board and then disbursed to whoever lands on Free Parking.

“... spend the rest of your time in the county klink.”

An imitation of Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the inept commander of the German prison camp on the CBS sitcom Hogan’s Heroes (1965-1971); the part was played by Werner Klemperer (1920-2000).

Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) was a blues singer and guitarist called “Father of the Texas Blues.” He was popular in his day and very influential on later blues artists, including B.B. King and Robert Johnson.

"Anyone want a snow cone? I can go to the galley. –No thanks."

Snow cone is the generic name given to treats of shaved ice coated with flavored syrup.

"Ixnay on the umpbay and rindgay (sic)!"

An example of pig Latin. A word game dating back to the 18th century, it works by taking the initial consonants or consonant cluster of a word, moving it to the end of the word, and adding “ay” to it. So, “umpbay” above is “bump.” (“Grind” should have been rendered as “indgray,” not “rindgay.”) “Nix” is a slang term meaning “stop” or “cut.” It derives from the
German word nicht, meaning “nothing.”

"Cat fight! –Trollop fight!"

“Trollop” is a word often used to indicate a woman of poor moral character. It comes from the word “troll,” which originally meant “to wander.”

"Hey, it’s Lenny and Squiggy school."

A reference to the two “wacky neighbor” characters on the TV sitcom Laverne & Shirley, which ran from 1976-1983: Leonard “Lenny” Kosnowski (Michael McKean) and Andrew “Squiggy” Squigman (David Lander).